The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[loveourbirds]

just a thought, we all have our own beliefs and conditions; but coon can climb and get inside the fence through the open top. with the electric netting it may become trapped inside the run area.

i cover mine with metal, the drier ground helps prevent several problems that are caused by moisture. of course my run areas are not even close to being as large as yours. a downside to covering with metal is grass wont grow well, typically leading to a vitamin A deficiency.

lol, if i dont stop now this could turn into a long post.

 

[aoxa]

I've actually watched a video where a fox did get trapped in a run with top netting..

 

[Leahs Mom]

I have netting on the top of the dog kennel but that is just a hawk protection and is not fox/coyote/raccoon proof at all. The kiddos are locked inside the hen house at night.

I had metal netting on it before and when we added to the run, took it down since it didn't fit anymore. We need to get the permanent metal topper on there soon.

That fox video is amazing. Too bad someone wasn't out there with a gun in the morning.


OH...and mine aren't supposed to be locked in in that pen all the time. It's just for contingency times when I can't let them run free. Like now.

It's the only part that is penned and covered. The electro net is blocking them out of the larger wooded area.

 

[lalaland]

Aoxa, that was worth watching. It looked like they had one of those blinking night predator guards that everyone swears by - didn't phase the fox, that is for sure. I wonder if it really just climbed the tree or if it jumped the fence.

 

[lalaland]

well, surprise, I survived! Watch out gross pics ahead

It actually went ok - the rain tapered off and we stayed mostly dry. The milk jug cone worked fine. I have a ways to go though to be able to gut the chicken ok.

The first rooster I did was the smallest - a white leghorn/ee cross. I've always worried about him getting enough to eat because he was always chased by the others, and because he stayed small. Turns out...he had an incredible amount of fat:

and I wasn't collecting the fat, there was more, this is just what I had to get out of the way. Yup, you can see the green bile from nicking the gallbladder bile thing. (technical name). And I've forgotten what those bean shaped things are - left side of pic above the green.


Also was astonished by the lav orp rooster - those dark feather quills ooze black jelly stuff and stain your fingers, and the whole bird looks less than appetizing:


It was so much easier than I anticipated, maybe because I watched so many videos to try to desensitize myself. I did have to look away when slicing the jugular -

thanks everyone for the words of encouragement. Now I want to go back and figure out what a couple of the organs were that I didn't recognize. And, doing only 6 birds, was incredibly exhausting!

 

[armorfirelady]

Great job Lala. I wonder why it was oozing black stuff where feathers were pulled out?

And those kidney shaped things above the bile slime are maybe testicles?

 

[ki4got]

Great job Lala. I wonder why it was oozing black stuff where feathers were pulled out?

And those kidney shaped things above the bile slime are maybe testicles?

you just nailed it AFL... kidney. most likely.

 

[aoxa]

well, surprise, I survived! Watch out gross pics ahead

It actually went ok - the rain tapered off and we stayed mostly dry. The milk jug cone worked fine. I have a ways to go though to be able to gut the chicken ok.

The first rooster I did was the smallest - a white leghorn/ee cross. I've always worried about him getting enough to eat because he was always chased by the others, and because he stayed small. Turns out...he had an incredible amount of fat:

and I wasn't collecting the fat, there was more, this is just what I had to get out of the way. Yup, you can see the green bile from nicking the gallbladder bile thing. (technical name). And I've forgotten what those bean shaped things are - left side of pic above the green.


Also was astonished by the lav orp rooster - those dark feather quills ooze black jelly stuff and stain your fingers, and the whole bird looks less than appetizing:


It was so much easier than I anticipated, maybe because I watched so many videos to try to desensitize myself. I did have to look away when slicing the jugular -

thanks everyone for the words of encouragement. Now I want to go back and figure out what a couple of the organs were that I didn't recognize. And, doing only 6 birds, was incredibly exhausting!

Yeah those darn dark feathers.. You pop them like pimples. The white birds have them too, you just can't see them... It doesn't change the flavour of the meat - but it is hard to get used to the sight.

Very proud of you!!

 

[aoxa]

you just nailed it AFL... kidney. most likely.

That's a testicle. The kidneys are liver coloured.

 

[armorfirelady]

Yay I finally guessed right lol oh and I know the intestines also lol